Tag: Oxy USA

In early 2008, two separate releases of hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemically laced hydraulic fracturing fluid and other natural gas drilling fluids spilled into Garden Gulch on the Roan Plateau north of Parachute, forming a spectacular frozen icefall of contaminated water. Nearly three and a half years later, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has finally struck a deal with the two companies responsible for the spills and will likely levy fines at a hearing next week.

A dubious record will likely be set when the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) meets over the next two days in Adams County: the highest fine ever levied against an oil and gas company for a spill in the state of Colorado.

Despite a record fine of $390,000 levied last month against Oxy USA, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has a backlog of unresolved water and soil contamination cases resulting from natural gas drilling in northwest Colorado, a Colorado Independent investigation reveals.

Monday, just a couple of days after running a story in which more than 90 county commissioners and other elected officials from around the...